F8 Facebook Conference: AR & VR

Facebook took advantage of the F8 developer conference to make several significant announcements about augmented reality and virtual reality.

It’s now a tradition. Facebook uses its Facebook F8 event to make announcements about augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

Last year, Mark Zuckerberg’s teams presented, among other things, the social network VR, Facebook Spaces but also the new option to broadcast 360 videos on Facebook.

2018 was no exception, and Facebook announced the release of its VR headset, the Oculus Go, but other announcements were also made.

Facebook F8: Oculus Go is now available

Although primarily anticipated by the virtual reality experts, we had already mentioned this 2 weeks ago, Facebook has announced that its VR headset, the Oculus Go, is now available at a price of 199 US dollars. In Europe, the virtual reality headset is marketed at a price of 219 euros.

Oculus Go does not require a computer or smartphone to work. No cables to interfere with the immersion and great comfort of use.

With the Oculus Go, Facebook hopes to democratize virtual reality by making it simple, practical, portable and inexpensive.

More than 1,000 applications are already available right out. Facebook is actually putting on a large catalog of apps, virtual reality games, and experience to make its VR headset attractive as soon as it is released. The Oculus Go comes with a controller. It is possible to order it now on the Oculus website.

As a reminder, the Oculus Go offers 538ppi screens offering 2560 x 1440 pixels. A very good definition, certainly lower than that of the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive, but which nevertheless allows an excellent immersion, superior to that of the Gear VR for example, while offering the comfort of a completely autonomous helmet.

Facebook offers to share VR experiences

The Oculus Venues app now lets you share and experience virtual reality experiences with friends. Oculus Room, created originally for the Gear VR, has evolved into Oculus Venues on Oculus Go.

The social app allows you to experience virtual reality sports, share movies, concerts, comedy shows, theater, play virtual reality games, society, etc. with your friends. Up to 4 people can share such moments with friends.

Augmented reality news

The news presented by Facebook during the F8 conference did not focus only on augmented reality. After allowing to insert 3D messages, the social network Facebook will also soon share 3D objects in its wall.